Fresh start for NU Lady Bulldogs in chase of new dynasty

Aris Dimaunahan: We’re going to start from scratch. —MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

It has been barely a month since National University’s (NU) stranglehold of the UAAP women’s basketball crown met its end.

And while coach Aris Dimaunahan is still filled with regret over the dynastic Lady Bulldos’ fall from grace, the former pro refuses to consider the campaign an absolute failure.

“Nothing’s going to happen even if you dwell on the past. Even if you do that every day, the results won’t change,” he told the Inquirer on Tuesday afternoon. “We’re going to start from scratch.”“There’s not much that we could do about what went down aside from aspiring to be stronger—better in the next season.”

NU was shooting for an eighth straight championship when it ran into a hungry University of Santo Tomas crew in the best-of-three series finalé. The Lady Bulldogs saw their bid fade in the fourth quarter of the decider, giving up a 14-point lead and ultimately yielding to a program mentored by an equally excellent coach in former national team mentor Haydee Ong.

Missing players

NU Lady Bulldogs. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

The loss also denied Dimuanhan a second straight championship since succeeding Pat Aquino, the architect of NU’s total domination that began in 2014.

The meltdown was uncharacteristic of NU, which has been the golden standard of the league for nearly a decade. But such a flaw was also likely from a squad that was missing several key cogs.

“You know, that team (that played last season) is one of the younger lineups in the tournament,” said Dimaunahan. “I know that’s not an excuse, but the fact here is we’re still growing.”

NU had to deal with several departures in Season 86. The Bulldogs missed the Gilas women’s standout Mikka Cacho, Cameroonian foreign student-athlete Annick Tiky, and shooters Rianne Villareal, Julia Barroquillo and Dimaunahan’s daughter Christiana.

“Missing those five was a big void we had to deal with throughout the tournament. But that’s basketball. Some leave and then some get on board. So we’ll have to go back to the drawing board this off-season,” he said.

For the coming season, NU is also set to miss Stef Berberabe, a US-raised guard who also plays for Gilas, as she is a “one-and-done.”